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Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comments from defense counsel.
After a three-day trial earlier this month, a Boone County jury awarded a woman and her husband $159 million after the woman suffered catastrophic injuries in a 2020 crash.
The woman’s lead counsel described the verdict, which was reached Jan. 11 in Boone Superior Court, as possibly the largest jury award of its kind in Indiana.
The case is Sherry Schnee and David Mark Schnee v. Ryann Early, 06D01-2101-CT-000003.
Ann Marie Waldron of Waldron Tate Bowen Land LLC served as lead counsel for the Schnees.
“I was hoping for a huge verdict. Our clients deserved it,” Waldron said of the award.
According to court records, on Oct. 18, 2020, Schnee and Early were driving on Albert S. White Drive in Whitestown.
While approaching a curve in the road, Early — who, according to court filings, was exceeding the posted speed limit of 40 miles per hour and traveling in a no passing zone — moved into the oncoming lane of traffic.
Early’s truck struck Schnee’s vehicle in a head-on collision. He was traveling approximately 79 miles per hour.
A toxicology laboratory tested Early’s blood sample and determined his blood alcohol concentration was .142%, nearly double Indiana’s legal limit for driving of .08%.
Schnee, who was transported to the hospital by helicopter, suffered a broken neck. As a result of the collision, she is a quadriplegic and has no feeling below her armpits.
The Schnees’ civil case was filed in January 2021.
In a separate criminal case, Early, of Whitestown, was convicted in December 2022 of causing catastrophic injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Fox 59 reported that he was sentenced on Feb. 9, 2023, to six years in the Indiana Department of Correction, followed by another four years of probation.
He appealed his conviction, a Level 4 felony. The Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed on Sept. 27, 2023.
“We conclude that evidence of probative value exists from which the trier of fact could have found Early guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of causing catastrophic injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated as a level 4 felony,” Judge Elaine Brown wrote for the appellate court.
Early filed a petition to transfer to the Indiana Supreme Court, which was denied.
In addition to Waldron, Katie Piscione and Brandon Tate with Waldron Tate and attorneys Michael Simmons and Hannah Brady of Hume Smith Geddes Green & Simmons LLP represented the Schnees.
Waldron said her clients’ testimony about what Sherry can’t as a result of her injuries, and the impact on their daily lives, was moving.
Benjamin Stevenson of Threlkeld & Stevenson was listed as counsel for Early.
Stevenson told Indiana Lawyer Wednesday that the verdict was pretty much what he and his client expected.
He said Sherry Schnee’s injuries were severe and he felt bad about what had happened to her in the 2020 car crash.
“I wish there was some actual dollars for them,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson said there were no plans to appeal the jury’s award.
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